How to delete Image playground from my iMac M3 and MacBook Air M1?

Deleting Image playground for my iPhone was easy. How do I delete this thing form my Mac's? It just won't go to the trash.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 24″, macOS 15.2

Posted on Dec 14, 2024 7:08 AM

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Posted on Dec 16, 2024 5:08 AM

I too would like to know this. I understand that Apple likes to include fun little applications that show of their new features, like Photo Booth when the iSight camera was integrated into the iMac, but this AI stuff if God awful. You can tell when an image or text is AI generated, which is making everyone's voice the same. Originality and personality are a thing of the past. When it's not making us all the same, the information it gives is wrong, so I'd like to scrub this fad from all devices.

50 replies

Feb 15, 2025 1:34 PM in response to GeoffDeGeoff666

GeoffDeGeoff666 wrote:

Yeah but why can’t I delete them? Stop being an Apple Stan and ask why we have to waste expensive disk space on stuff we never open.
especially when I can delete the equivalent apps on my iPhone and iPad.

Because you are comparing 2 entirely different platforms with entirely different security protections. In addition MacOS it a multi user platform where the apps on stored in the System Folders allowing access by any user and you can even install apps using a downloaded installer, none of which is a concern with iPhone/iPad.


Maybe, someday you will be able to do it, but it is not today, and it would require a major overhaul on MacOS with how the files are stored and accessed by other users. Feel free to send feedback to Apple here:

Product Feedback - Apple


Nothing is going to change by arguing about it here.

Dec 31, 2024 6:14 PM in response to oxana192

I can copy and paste using Image Playground. I opened an Image I created in Image Playground and right clicked on it and it offered copy, then I pasted it into a text message. Now, I can't copy and paste the same image into this forum, as the forum requires specific formatting, like JPEG for example.


But to your point that you should have the option to remove Image Playground, I'm sure there are loads of things on your device you don't use, which you can't remove. That's how operating systems work. There are things in Windows, which can't be removed.

Jan 1, 2025 6:05 AM in response to clement_59

clement_59 wrote:

I actually don't mind the additional software.
I would probably not use it,
But - why give it such an image ? The vision of a big eyed kitten is actually nauseating, & offends me.
It looks so dodgy, like a Far-East IT infection upon my well maintained Apple Mac.
I just cannot trust it. I've tried to remove it, I have tried to hide it, it is just yuck

You may be the only person I've met who thinks an image of a kitten is nauseating and offensive. You can make some of the people happy some of the time. You can make some of the people unhappy some of the time, but you can't make ALL of the people happy ALL of the time.


If it's really so incredibly objectionable to you, place the app icon in a folder on your Mac. It will be less obvious that way.


You can't remove it. You can't hide it.

Jan 6, 2025 10:42 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:

Yes, you are correct, I was thinking iPhone.

Whether it's a Mac, iPhone or iPad, I still don't see what's archaic about it? Most people just don't read past the first post anyway.


Archaic according to Websters Dictionary:


1: having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses

an archaic word

Note: In this dictionary the label archaic is affixed to words and senses relatively common in earlier times but infrequently used in present-day English.

2: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time antiquated

archaic legal traditions

3: capitalized of or belonging to the early or formative phases of a culture or a period of artistic development

especially of or belonging to the period leading up to the classical period of Greek culture

4: surviving from an earlier period

specifically typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage

5: capitalized of or relating to the period from about 8000 b.c. to 1000 b.c. and the North American cultures of that time


Feb 15, 2025 8:13 AM in response to lost-sailor

Did Apple or someone make you purchase a Mac which might not possibly meet your storage needs? NOPE. I understand that as technology continues to advance, it does faster than hardware already acquired can. So I purposely buy my devices with more storage than I may need. My MacBook Pro is 1TB. My iPhone and iPad are 512GB. I don't have to be concerned about things which are built into the operating system, whether I use them or don't. Because again, I understand that there will ALWAYS be things built into the operating system I can't remove.

Feb 15, 2025 9:21 AM in response to lost-sailor

lost-sailor wrote:

I'm not an Apple employee, so I paid for my computer, including the ram, and the disk. Everyone knows they under-size the disk and ram to nudge people to upgrade their hardware. It's an artificially scarce resource.

The push all their inferior apps, to further impose artificial scarcity. All the junk I can't remove:

<snip>

527656 total

...Is about half a gig. So, not zero. Small, but not zero. When your disk is full, you'd wish you had it.

And this doesn't even include the "Apple Intelligence" LLMs. Turn it off, you still have to drag all that crud around.

I license the files, but I own the disk, right?

Also, ALL operating systems? Go try linux. You can remove any file. You can strip that OS down to a tiny disk footprint.


Yes, you can try linux, for which there are thousands of hacks available.


All of those apps you listed are on the read-only system partition, to prevent a hacker from overwriting the apps with an app containing malware. And, as they are on the read-only partition, they are not using any space on your read-write partition. If you don’t want Apple’s security features then certainly switch to Linux.

Feb 15, 2025 12:48 PM in response to GeoffDeGeoff666

GeoffDeGeoff666 wrote:

I bought an iMac before Apple intelligence was a thing. I opted out of the pointless generative nonsense I will never use.
it now takes up 7 GB of space minimum on my disc even though I have turned it off that is unacceptable

You are simply licensed to use the software. There are many things that can't be deleted, such as any of the apps including Chess that you may never use. Also, you are unable to remove any of the emojis, even if there are many you do not use. You don't have to use AI and can turn it off, but you will not be able to remove any parts of the OS that was installed.

Feb 15, 2025 1:33 PM in response to GeoffDeGeoff666

I'm not censoring you. If you want to complain, I'm suggesting you complain where Apple will see your complaint. Complaining here might make you feel better, but there is not one person who can tell you how to remove built in components/applications in MacOS. And no one from Apple participates here or will read your posts.


Is there any part of this is a USER TO USER only forum and as such we can't change how Apple manages their operating systems you don't understand? NO ONE here can effect the changes you seek.

Feb 15, 2025 1:33 PM in response to lobsterghost1

But why are apps that people don’t use, included in that system partition.


No one has explained the necessity for them to be there. They’ve just said that they are there and we have to accept it.


Why do I need chess? Why do I need a calculator when I have an iPhone?


absolutely no applications that are not absolutely necessary for the operation of the operating system should be in the system partition.


All of them should be deletable because they are pointless and take up space if you don’t use them.


And if you can’t see that as a reasonable, I don’t know what’s wrong with you

Jan 4, 2025 2:40 PM in response to GeoffDeGeoff666

GeoffDeGeoff666 wrote:

Further to add this is not an issue exclusive to Apple.

Microsoft do it on their platform Google do it on their platform even Samsung do it if you buy one of their phones.

providers need to get over the fact that they think we need to use all the software if we don’t use it we should be able to delete it. It just wastes space on the devices we have paid for.

I get what you want. But this forum isn't Apple Support. It is a user to user only forum and Apple isn't here, nor are they reading these posts for feedback. As such, no one here can give you what you want. So asking for it here, will get you nothing.


Feel free to tell Apple what you want here --> Product Feedback - Apple


And you are right, every software company you mention, builds things into the Operating Systems you cannot remove. Apple is no different and it's likely not going to change, unless of course, you have enough money to buy these tech companies and you can change how they manage their operating systems.

How to delete Image playground from my iMac M3 and MacBook Air M1?

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